The present invention relates generally to vehicle endgates, and more particularly to a counterbalance for a vehicle endgate.
Conventional pickup trucks have an endgate that pivots from a vertical closed position rearward and downward to a horizontal open position for ease in loading and unloading cargo from the bed of the pickup. For some people, however, the amount of effort required to lift the endgate from its open position in order to close it is undesirably high. Thus, some pickup manufacturers have added mechanisms to assist in lifting the tailgate from its open position while one is closing the endgate.
For example, some have added torsion rods or vertically extending gas cylinders connected to the endgate hinge assembly. These devices store energy as the endgate is moved from its closed position to its fully open position, with the energy being used to assist a person when closing the endgate. While the torsion rod provides assist with lift effort, it does not provide any damping effect, which may be desirable when moving the endgate between its open and closed positions. The gas cylinder also has drawbacks in that it may interfere with the tail lamp housing, creating a packaging problem within the vehicle. Moreover, neither of these designs assists with maintaining the endgate (and hinge) in a position desirable for removal of the endgate from (and reassembly of the endgate to) the vehicle.